The Beginning of a New Life
by Lady Discord
Summary: AVP.STARGATE SG1 Crossover Lex joins a new team to eliminate the offsprings of the revived Alien queen from Antarctica. Drawn by their favorite prey the Predators soon join the hunt. SEQUEL TO THE “A.vs.P.” MOVIE
1. Antarctica

**PART 1: "Antarctica"**

Alexa Woods stood there in the blistering cold, holding in her arms the originally designed weapon she had received as a reward for her courage. Although she was rather scantily dressed for such weather, she almost did not feel the cold, being still both confused and amazed after everything that had happened. She always knew that a trip like that, to one of the most secluded places in the world, in the heart of Antarctica, would be a real challenge, even for someone as experienced as herself; but sophisticated ancient pyramids that served as a training camp for highly technologically advanced creatures from outer space was a bit too much even for Alexa Woods. Nonetheless, a part of her could not help but feel proud for being considered a true warrior by that race of skillful hunters, and marked as one of their own.

Seeing the spaceship disappear from sight, Lex slowly started to acknowledge her current state and she started to conceive a plan in her mind for getting back to civilization. What troubled her the most though, was what explanation she would give the authorities who would question her about the big explosion, not to mention the death of more than twenty people and especially of the billionaire Charles Weyland.

As she made her way towards a nearby truck that she hoped to be her ticket out of this desert of snow and ice, Lex felt a peculiar wind starting to blow from nowhere. She looked up and to her amazement she saw what seemed like another spaceship approaching. When it got closer, she saw that it was far smaller than that of the hunters, more like the size of a small airplane. After having a better look at it Lex saw that it was not so alien looking but more like an advanced version of a military jet.

The jet landed on a clear surface, not too far from where she was standing, and a ramp came down at its backside. She could hear the sound of footsteps on the metal staircase-ramp and then she clearly saw them appearing on the snow, advancing towards her. The one who was making them however, seemed to be invisible. When the footsteps were close enough to her she could make out a figure that reminded her of the hunter's invisibility system and thought that the one in front of her had to be one of them.

Before she could make a move, something that felt like three small needles stung her neck and she quickly lost balance and collapsed. Her body became completely stiff, the only part of it that she could still move being her eyes. She saw the one who brought her to this state coming closer and becoming visible. Lex only caught a glimpse of someone dressed in what looked like a black leather suit, before passing out. The suit covered every inch of the body and only the mask resembled a bit the one of the hunters, but the shape of the head was definitely human, or at least gave the impression of being human. There were a lot of straps and cords on the suit that held several weapons, some of which looked like nothing out of the ordinary, but on the left arm, this person or whatever it was, had a small computer, similar to those of the hunters and yet far from identical.

This was all that Lex could notice before a veil of darkness fell over her eyes.


	2. The secret organization

**NOTE 1:** Hey there! Thank you every one so very very much for the wonderful reviews. I've finally managed to write another chapter. Sorry for the long delay. I'll do by best to update sooner from now on, but please keep reviewing, even though you don't like it. In that case, tell me what I should change.

**PART 2: "The secret organization "**

_ A secret underground military facility located somewhere in a mountainous region in North America _

A tall woman with raven hair, dark eyes and fair skin, dressed in a black and dark-green military uniform with golden buttons and decorations, resembling no other known uniform, entered a large office, where a middle-aged man, dressed in a similar uniform sat behind a desk, looking through some files. Behind the desk there was a glass-wall that gave a panoramic view of a large hall with metal walls, some staircases, various doors leading to other offices or chambers, and crowded with busy men and women going in all directions.

"General?" the woman asked on a tone that couldn't be more serious.

"Yes, come in," the general waved his hand, motioning her to do so, without taking his eyes off of the papers.

The woman approached the desk and stood there with her arms behind her back in a typical military position of an officer awaiting the orders of his superiors, waiting until the general addressed her, still without looking at her.

"Did the girl wake up yet?"

"Pardon sir, what girl?" she asked confused, with a soft British accent.

"That girl that was brought in earlier. What? You don't know yet?" he eventually put down the papers to give her an annoyed look.

"I just arrived a couple of minutes ago from Tokyo."

"Well then, here!" he said handing her the file he was studying.

"Alexa Woods, environmental technician and guide?" she asked a bit irritated after skimming the file. "With all the respect, sir, every officer here is very well capable of leading his team. We do not need a guide."

"On the contrary, I think that would be an excellent idea. We've taken a lot of risks in the past few years by blindly venturing into unknown territories, most of the times barely escaping alive and that is not something I want to see happening again. However, Miss Woods was brought here due to other reasons."

"Don't tell me. She went out on an adventure and got herself mixed up in something far too complicated for her common human intellect to comprehend, and now we must make sure she keeps her mouth shut about it," the woman spat out the ironical remark with obvious anger in her voice.

"It doesn't make any difference now why she was there. The important thing is that she apparently made contact with an extraterrestrial civilization and I need you to …… "

"Oh no! There are too many things I have to deal with on this planet, for me to start chasing after aliens. Why don't you talk with those …… Stargate fellows? After all, it is their aria of expertise, is it not? We have much more complicated things to deal with."

"No. This is exactly what I was telling you before. It's another risk I'm not willing to take. What if they mess up the whole thing and put us all in danger?"

"They very unlikely to do so. I know them quite well, they're good guys and they know what they are doing."

"The SG-1 members may be good guys but they're powerless. They must obey the Government, they're under it, while we are above it. We don't know yet with what kind of aliens this girl made contact and if the Government finds out about this, their actions could eventually lead to the beginning of an intergalactic war."

"On that I have to agree with you, sir," the woman spoke, this time with a submissive tone. "Tell me about this woman. Where did she go and what exactly happened there?"

"We don't know too much yet. She's still unconscious, so we were not able to speak to her but Leah is trying to find some details in her own way."

The general then went to a large screen and began to operate a computer located next to it. On the screen appeared various pictures that were either maps of the world or satellite pictures. While doing so, he began explaining to the woman the significance of the images he was showing her.

"What we do know is that she was called to lead a team set up by Charles Wayland, after one of his satellites picked up an unidentified heat source coming from Bouvetoya Island in Antarctica. They went there and discovered an ancient pyramid buried 2000 ft. below the ice, which seemed to be the source of the heat. We don't know what exactly happened there but we recorded an explosion of large proportions and the presence of an extraterrestrial spaceship on Earth's orbit. Also, Miss Woods seems to be the only member of the team who is still alive."

"Sir, shouldn't we at least talk to the SG-1 about this? Perhaps they might know what alien civilization we are dealing with."

"No, because this is something that concerns us personally."

"Really, sir? How is that?" the woman asked curiously, her interest in the matter growing by the minute.

"When we found Miss Woods, she was carrying a certain weapon which we assumed she might have got from the aliens. What is strange though, is that the weapon is made of adamantium."

"Adamantium? But wasn't that invented by our scientists?"

"That is what we made everyone believe, as not to raise suspicions. The formula for creating adamantium was given to us by the Lin Kuei, as well as its key ingredient, a mineral that cannot be found on Earth. We were so glad to posses such a powerful metal that we did bot care to ask them where they got it from. We were just glad they were willing to share it."

"And I believe the invisibility system we use on our suits and transportation vehicles is also from them."

"As a matter of fact, it is."

"Well, I think it is time for me to pay a visit to the Lin Kuei and demand a couple of answers."

"While you do that, you might want to question them about other things as well."

"Like what? Are there more things I am not aware of?"

"Go see Miss Woods. She has a mark on her left cheek that looks freshly made, and I have a feeling those aliens have something to do with it. Take a good look at it. Trust me, you'll be surprised."

**NOTE 2:**

**_Cougar66: _**I'm glad you liked the first chapter. Hope you'll like this as well. Oh, and thank you so much for giving me that address. It's a very cool site. 

**_anonymous: _**Here's the next part. Hope you'll enjoy it.

**_PadawanMage: _**Thanks for the site you suggested. It's really cool. Here's the second chapter, in which you'll understand who kidnapped Lex and why.

**_jcool: _**Great to know you liked it so far. Please tell me what you think about the new chapter.

**_Dark Cosmos: _**Read this chapter and you'll find out who are Lex's kidnappers. And yes, she's in for another fun adventure and she'll definitely fight with preds again.

**_lamyka: _**Are you a fortune teller or something like that? I'm talking about that thing you said about Lex's kidnappers being one of Keyes' cronies from Pred2. Well, it doesn't have anything to do with those guys but it's something similar. If you read you'll find out. Also, thank you so much for your great support, giving me those sites and programs and all. Thanx again!

Oh, and I haven't found a downloadable version of the AVP books. Also, I've never found any downloadable novelizations. If you happen to know from where I could get some, could you please tell me?

**_Tashilover: _**Well, the second chapter's up so I guess you have to keep your promise and post a new chapter to your story as well (if you already have, than don't mind this comment). But I'm really looking forward to find out what happens next in your story. 

**_Flamestrike: _**The second chapter has finally arrived. Please let me know if you like it.

**_show-jumper: _**Oh, yeah, Jason Issacs' definitely my fav actor as well. I just loved him in "The Patriot". Anyway, hope you'll like where this story's going. Oh, and I love to use my fav movie characters in my stories and Jason is likely to show up.

**_NG: _**Thank you so much for your compliment. Actually, I didn't intend to write a standalone story, so here's the next chapter. Hope you like it. Oh, and you asked me where I'm from. I'm from Romania.

**_Bassdogg2006: _**I'm happy you like my story. If you want to know what will happen to Alexa please read this new chapter and don't forget to review. Don't worry, Lex will be fine. She has to be, she's the main character of the story.


	3. Revelations

**NOTE 1: **In this story you may come across certain elements or characters that you probably are familiar with, from movies, TV shows, etc. However, they are not the same characters and I NEVER INTENDED TO MAKE THIS A CROSSOVER. I just like to put my fav. movie characters in my stories, but of course, give them a diff. biography. THIS STORY WILL FOCUS EXCLUSIVELY ON THE "AVP" MOVIE. The "foreign" concepts or characters you will encounter are just there to emphasize the background of certain leading characters.

Well, that's all I had to say. If you have any suggestions or questions, feel free to share them with me in a review or e-mail me at You!

Oh, and if you encounter things you don't understand, don't worry, if you read on the story, you will find out all the necessary explanations.

**PART 3: "Revelations" **

Lex felt as if she was recovering from a long, painful disease. Slowly, she regained her conscious and memories of her latest experience suddenly rushed through her mind. She remembered very well all that had happened before she passed out and she was a bit afraid to open her eyes, not knowing where she would find herself. However, she couldn't hear any strange noises or smell any strange odors and the most curious thing was that she felt as if she was lying on a soft bed, covered with a thick blanket.

Her eyes hurt a little as if she hadn't opened them for a long time, which is why she was not able to open them instinctively, as soon as she woke up. At first, the vision before her eyes was blurry, but when she managed to get them wide-open she was almost shocked to find herself in her own bedroom, lying in her very bed, dressed in her own pajamas.

She quickly got out of bed and looked around, assuring herself that she was indeed in her room. She walked to the window, opened the curtains and looked outside. Not knowing what to make of this, as images of monsters and ancient constructions kept popping up in her mind, she though that it must have been a bad dream. Still, for a mere dreams she had too much information and too many details stuck in her mind.

Then, she remembered something, and her left arm slowly went up to her cheek, touching it, and tracing with her fingers the shape of a scar that she prayed not to be there. Unfortunately, the scar form what she thought to have been a very real and disturbing nightmare was undoubtedly there, proving that she had really experienced all those things. But if that was the case, what was she doing back in her apartment? Not that she wasn't glad to be there, but it just didn't make sense.

She remembered very clearly the man who had shot her, rendering her unconscious with some sort of tranquilizer from what she had gathered. But she could think of no logical reason for which that man, or whatever it was, brought her back to civilization, even to her very apartment, as if nothing had happened.

And what if she was not really in her apartment, but in some chamber, aboard a spaceship or inside a military facility of some sort, made to look like her place, just to give her the illusion she was home, when in fact she was a prisoner somewhere. The thought almost made her panic and, as if out of a primary instinct, she ran to the window and quickly opened it.

She was quite shocked to be struck by the warm rays of the sun and to inhale the cool morning air. She bent down over the sash of the window and saw people of all ages heading in every direction, cars passing by as usual, birds flying in the sky. For the first time in her life, Lex was glad to hear the deafening noises a crowded neighborhood from Manhattan provided and she let out a sigh of relief, thinking that this was far too real to be improvised.

She moved away from the window and started heading towards the door. Opening it slowly she found herself in a small corridor of her apartment. She started walking along it, but then suddenly stopped when she heard voices coming from her living room. She crept closer and peeked from behind a corner to see who else was in her house.

She saw two women: the one who had talked to the General earlier –but unknown to Lex- and another one, shorter of stature, with short-cut, wavy blonde hair and a sweet, almost child-like expression. The brunette was dressed in an elegant dark-brown suit, wearing a tight, cream blouse underneath and high heels, while the blonde wore a white blouse, a pink skirt a few inches above the knees and some comfortable low-healed sandals. Lex found it rather strange to see two unknown women in her house, who were apparently preparing a meal, while arguing about … her.

"You know, I agree with the general; we could really use a guide and she seems to be so nice. And after all she's been through, she could very well ……," the blonde spoke on a naïve and obviously enthusiastic tone, before being harshly interrupted by the brunette.

"She simply made contact with one alien species. That means nothing. We deal with much more complex matters, which I am certain she would refuse to take seriously."

"Not if we provide believable evidence, and you very well know we have a lot of that."

"Yes, but one of our main priorities is to make sure ordinary humans such as herself never find out about these things. Perhaps if she were a mutant …… "

"Oh, come on, very few of us are mutants. What about that doctor you brought in a couple of years ago, Karen or whatever her name was? Don't we already have enough doctors?"

"We didn't have anyone specialized in that particular domai …… ," the woman suddenly stopped, her eyes looking alert.

"What?" the blonde asked curiously.

"Sssht," the brunette motioned with her hand for the blonde to be quiet, while her head slowly turned to the left, towards the corner behind which Lex was hiding.

Seeing this, Lex quickly retreated, trying to figure out how she could have made herself heard, since the only noise she made was that of the fabric of her pajamas brushing against the wall; but that was not a hearable sound …… at least for a normal human being.

"There is no need for you to hide Miss Woods. I understand you probably are confused, but we are willing to explain everything if you would care to join us," the brunette explained to her.

"What are you doing in my house?" Lex adopted a serious and courageous attitude, stepping out from behind the wall, after deciding that in comparison to what she had experienced, she had no reason to fear two ordinary looking, unarmed women.

"Don't you think the real question is what are you doing in your house?" the brunette posed an awkward question.

"What's that suppose to mean?" Lex asked, trying to simulate a superior attitude since it was her house after all, and the two women were intruders.

"What is the last thing you remember? Standing alone in the icy wind, watching the alien space ship taking off?"

"How do you know about that?"

"It is my job to know."

"What do you want from me?"

"Information."

"Didn't you say earlier ordinary humans like myself should not know about such things?"

"But you already do know …… "

"And I am not telling anything to anyone, no matter what. I don't want to spend the rest of my life in a sanatorium."

"Perfect," the tall woman spoke, displaying a very satisfactory smile. "In that case I believe I owe you an apology."

"What for? I don't even know you."

"No, but I've come to know some things about you and I now realize I have misjudged you. You are not at all like the so-called ordinary humans."

"Yeah, and you could come and work for the organization," the blonde girl added.

"Yes, I think she could," the brunette finally agreed, to the blonde's over-excitement.

"What organization?" Lex asked, trying to find as many answers for her infinite number of questions.

"We work for a secret organization called "World Liberation Army", which strives to protect the people of this planet from dangers that have existed since the beginning of time, but which the modern world has reduced to insignificant myths. There is far too much to be explained on this matter and none of this information would be relevant to you, unless maybe later, if you choose to work for us."

"I already have a job."

"No one is asking you to quit your present job, but you will need our protection when the Government agents start tracking you down, and we do not offer protection for free."

"So you want me to trust you just like that?"

The dark-haired woman did not answer immediately, but took her time and walked towards a table situated in a further corner of the room, to the right, upon which Lex saw the very weapon she had been given by that extraterrestrial race of hunters. The woman picked up the spear-weapon from a prop similar to one fit for holding a sword, which Lex did not recognize as her own. Then she turned to Lex and threw her the weapon, which she caught with both hands, with a surprising agility.

"By all means, try to kill us if we would ever attempt to harm you in any way," the dark-haired woman informed her with just a faint trace of amusement in her serious tone.

"Do you think it's wise to arm a potential enemy? I could kill you right now."

"I said you will try," the woman responded, not being able to prevent a smirk from appearing on her lips.

"Why don't you stop jabbering and have some breakfast, especially you Alexa. You must be really hungry after having slept for a whole week," the blonde girl quickly intervened, being as cheerful and sympathetic as ever.

"I slept for a week?" Lex turned to her, still holding the weapon tight in her arms.

"We had to keep you asleep because we took you to our headquarters to run some tests and see if you have not been contaminated in any way by the alien species you had been in contact with, thus representing a threat for the population on Earth."

"So you know everything that happened there."

"Like I said before, it is my job to know."

"Then what do you want from me? If you imply I could contact those aliens or something, you are wrong. And even if I did know how to do that, I could not imagine the purpose of bringing any of those creatures back to Earth."

"I know you do not know and I would never ask you such a thing. Now, the last thing you remember is seeing a small ship landing and afterwards being shot with a tranquilizer by a man who could become invisible at will, is it not?"

"Yes. I would assume he was one of you, but …… "

"But how is it that we posses a technology similar to that of those hunters from outer-space. We asked ourselves the same question but I have come to realize that this matter concerns me personally. That is why I am interested in you, and especially in that mark those aliens gave you."

"Why would that be of any importance?"

"When I was only a few months old I was taken away from my parents and raised by an ancient Chinese clan called the Lin Kuei, who has been training spies and assassins for thousands of years. The supreme leader of this clan is called The Grand Master, a mysterious man who no one has ever seen and who communicates with the other leaders of the clan through a chosen leader known as The Prophet. After enduring sever training for almost 20 years and proving myself as one of the best warriors of the Lin Kuei, The Prophet informed me that it was The Grand Master's wish that I wear this mark …… " The dark-haired woman raised her left sleeve to expose her wrist, upon which Lex was very amazed to see tattooed the same mark she had on her cheek.

"I was as surprised as you are now when I first saw the mark on your face."

"Is it possible that this Grand Master could have anything to do with those hunters?"

"That is what I would like to find out. You better eat and get dressed; we're flying to China tonight."

"You said it yourself this is a personal matter. How could I be of any help?"

"Actually, you are the one who needs our support, because I have a feeling those alien hunters may come after you, now that they have marked you and rewarded you with one of their weapons."

"Come on, you know you want to," the blonde girl spoke, appearing quite sure of what she was saying.

"How do you know what I want?" Lex asked on a rather upset tone, which was only a cover for her surprise as how the girl posed the question in the exact same moment that the thought of accepting the offer crossed her mind.

"Ahh …… I just assumed, seeing how you're an adventurer and all," the girl tried to explain, speaking as if trying to hide something.

"I'm not exactly an adventurer. I just try to prevent people from dying in the middle of nowhere."

"In this case we have much in common and I think we would get along perfectly. But let's not waste any more time talking. You should eat."

Lex started walking towards the table, the spear still in her hands, when she suddenly stopped and looked back at the dark-haired woman.

"Since we are to work together, I would like to at least know your names."

"Certainly," the dark-haired woman answered with a smile. "My name is Lara Warrington, colonel at the WLA (World Liberation Army) and this is Leah Lail, computer specialist."

"Hi!" Leah responded gaily when Lex glanced at her.

Lex turned back to Lara and looked from her to the prop that had been used to hold the spear.

"So, I guess we will just have to trust each other on this, since we know very little about each other."

"We will protect you whenever necessary, but I am afraid I cannot trust you. I do not trust anyone. Experience has taught me not to."

Lex contemplated the situation for a short while before tossing her the weapon. Lara easily caught it and nodded, greeting Lex's gesture with a smile, after which she approached the table and put the weapon back in its place.

Finally, Lex sat at the table together with Leah, and the two began chatting, while Lara made a couple of calls on her mobile phone, making all the arrangements for their impending trip to China.

**NOTE 2: **

- Although there are concepts like "adamantium" and "mutants" in my story, this doesn't mean that I am writing about the X-Men. There will be characters in the story with powers similar to the X-Men but that is it. Like I said before, I am not doing a crossover;

- Some characters from the SG-1 series may appear later, but the story will focus on Lex and the Yautja

- The character "Lara" has no connection what so ever with Lara Croft. Lara is a common name and I chose it simply because it is one of the names I particularly like.

**Many thanks to all my reviewers! Without your support I could have never continue writing. **

**_lamyka:_ **Well, I guess I already explained my intentions to you, about this story and I hope you will stick with me because I promise it'll get better. I just have difficulties getting started but beginning with the next chapter, when I'll finally be done with all the introductions, things will start to run smoothly.

**_Barney Calhoun:_ **I'm so glad to have a new reader and reviewer. I know the first 2 chaps were very short but I promise the following will be longer. I hoped this one was long enough. Please tell me whether you liked it.

**_Raptor-Chick:_ **Hope you liked this chapter!

**_LadyJavert:_ **Wow, this coincidence is really amazing. I'm proud to know there is someone out there who shares some of my thoughts and I appreciate your support and encouragement. Lex will meet the Preds in the next chap, but first tell me what you think about this chap.

**_PadawanMage:_ **Nice to know you support my ideas. I really appreciate it.

What exactly would you like to be brought up from Predator 1 and 2?

**_Tashilover:_ **Yeah, can't blame you. Neal seems to be everyone's fav. (even my mom's, who watches the show with me). Don't worry, you don't have to know anything about the X-Men or be a fan. I will not bring up actual characters from that movie. Please keep reading and reviewing and I'll find a way to put Neal in this.

**_Bookstick:_ **Hey there! So good to have you aboard! I'm very happy to see that quite a lot of people are interested in my little story. I hope you like where this is going and I would really like to know your opinion on this chapter.

**_Dark Cosmos: _**Wow! Thanks so much! Your wonderful review really made my day. You should really watch Stargate if you ever have the chance. It's a very good TV show. Hope you liked the new chapter. Really looking forward to hearing from you again!

**_R.C.R.M:_ **Hey there new reviewer! You seemed to have read my mind, since I was also thinking of whether to bring the Xeno queen back, but now that you suggested it, I'll definitely do it. Sorry, I didn't get a chance to e-mail you, but I would really like to know all the necessary info on Xenomorphs, and Yautja as well, if you have any. So, whenever you have the time, please e-mail me at Alex.bk.ro.


	4. The missing queen

**NOTE: **Hello again! Sorry for not posting in such a long time but college and lack of inspiration got in the way. I truly hope to make up for it now. Thank you very very much for all your reviews. Without your support I would have not felt such a strong desire to continue this story.

**PART 4: "The missing queen" **

Half an hour later, Leah and Lara left, leaving Lex alone to prepare for the trip. After taking a shower and slipping into a new outfit, Lex packed only some essential things in a backpack then went to the collect her weapon. She took her time to study carefully every inch of it, since she had never had the opportunity to do that before.

She reevaluated once again her present status and how much her life had changed in such a short period of time. It was like only yesterday she had set off on a most usual expedition, when she received that dreadful call that was to change her life forever. A part of her was angry for not having abandoned the mission when she had the chance, since she had been unable to save anyone but herself, but another part of her was glad she hadn't abandoned her principles and had done everything she could till the end.

She reached out to take the weapon from the prop that Lara had brought for her to hold her weapon on, thinking that this shocking experience had been benefic after all, as it opened her eyes and showed her a face of the world some people never come to know. Just then, as her hand grabbed the weapon and lifted it from the prop, there was a sudden knock on the door. She went to see who it was when she remembered that no one could get in the building without using the intercom and she was certain she had not let anyone in. But then she heard a man's voice coming form behind the door:

"Postal delivery!"

Lex was relieved to hear this and mentally scolded herself for becoming too paranoid. Fortunately, she was not too quick in opening the door and stopped right in front of it when she heard the postman calling her name.

"Miss Woods, postal delivery. Are you home?"

Normally, Lex should not have found at all unusual that the man called out her name, since it was written on a small plaque on her door, but still, there was something that held her back from opening it. A few moments later, she was glad she hadn't opened the door, when the man took no shame in checking to see whether the door was locked, in an almost brutal manner, as if he was trying to force it open.

This really scared Lex and she immediately grabbed her backpack and the weapon, and got out to the fire escape through her bedroom window. She was very close to reaching the ground when she noticed a man dressed in a dark suit, wearing a white shirt, a tie and a pair of dark sunglasses, resembling the secret agents one sees in movies or TV series, surveying the area. Before she could jump down and run towards the crowded street, the man spotted her and in no time he reached the bottom of the ladder and started climbing up after her. Lex started climbing back up as fast as she could to get away from her pursuer, but when she looked up, she saw that there were two more men – dressed in similar outfits – waiting for her in front of her bedroom window.

"Miss Woods, there is no need to fear us. We are here to help you," one of the two men spoke, drawing Lex's attention and thus giving the man who was climbing after her the needed opportunity to get closer and grab her left ankle.

"Please understand that we are doing this for your own good," spoke the other man of the two who were standing at the top of the ladder, when he saw Lex's frightened expression as the third man grabbed her leg.

"Come with us. We are the only ones who can help you," the other man spoke again and leaned over the balustrade, offering her his hand to help her up.

"Thank you for caring, but I am very much capable of helping myself," Lex spat out ironically, this time looking self-confident and courageous.

In one swift move, she turned halfway around, one foot on the ladder and the other still in the pursuer's grasp, and took out the weapon that she had attached to her backpack. It all happened too fast for Lex to understand how exactly she had managed to make the weapon extend to an almost 5 feet long spear, which she used to smack her pursuer across the face; but when her pursuer was lying unconscious on the ground with a deep cut on one cheek, that was not really important. Another thing that passed even faster was a bullet that brushed past her right ear the moment she had hit the man with the spear.

"No. We need her alive for now," one of the two men informed the one who had fired at her, his plain tone denoting no signs that he cared whether she lived or died; he spoke as if referring to a test subject and not at all to a human being.

The "alive for now" part didn't sound very appealing to Lex and she knew she had to get as far away as possible from those people. Acting on the spur of the moment, Lex totally bypassed the possibility of actual climbing down the ladder, and she jumped, landing on a large dumpster, overfilled with plastic, garbage bags all of them – luckily for her– being well sealed.

She quickly got out from there, the 5 feet spear still in her right hand, intending to head towards the street, but she was surprised to see that the man she had rendered unconscious was nowhere to be found.

At the moment, Lex didn't exactly care what had happened to him, her only concern being to get to the street as soon as possible. She immediately started walking towards the exit of the back-alley she was currently in, when she heard a noise that made her stop and hold the weapon firmly with both hands in front of her chest, ready to use it if necessary. She felt she had developed a stronger power of concentration and she was now almost always attentive as not to be taken by surprise. The pyramid experience had definitely played a great part in awakening the warrior spirit within her, and now, more than ever, she was grateful for it, because the moment she stopped, the man she had hit earlier appeared in front of her from behind a corner, aiming a large pistol at her.

"Drop the weapon," he ordered the very moment he appeared in front of her. The fresh wound on his cheek didn't seem to bother him in the least and to Lex, he looked more like a robot than a man. Nonetheless, she didn't ponder too much on that and acting just as quickly, like out of a defense mechanism, she hit his hand with the spear, making him drop the pistol. Afterwards, she tried to hit him as well, but he managed to grab the spear, without touching the edge of the blade and cutting himself.

In a frantic desire to escape, Lex acted faster and with more agility than she thought she could, and kicked the man in the stomach. She fiercely pulled the weapon from his hands and turned to run away, when the man sprung forwards from where he had landed and grabbed one of her legs, just like he had done before, pulling her backwards. This time Lex wasn't as tolerant as before and stroke one tip of the spear into his wrist.

"Ahhhh ……, damn you bitch!" he cursed, before letting out a cry of pain. This, and the stream of blood that started to flow from the wound proved to Lex that he was human after all.

However, at the present time, Lex couldn't be anything but indifferent to this man's suffering. Leaving him behind, she started running along a side-alley without looking back; she stopped only when she realized that the path she had chosen took her only further from the main street. She thought of going back but then quickly changed her mind when she saw the wounded man advancing towards her with his pistol pointed at her and ready to fire.

He ran after her, cursing her under his breath for the damage and great pain she had caused him. Some bullets were fired in her direction, but fortunately neither of them hit her as she took a corner that very moment. They ran in circles through the winding neighborhood for about ten minutes, Lex taking a new path every time but never being fortunate enough to escape into the busy street. She felt as though she was back in the pyramid.

Finally, she found herself back from where she had started and immediately recognized the alley she usually took to reach the main street. She started running towards the street when another man blocked her way. Although he was simply dressed, with a pair of blue jeans, a dark T-shirt and jacket, not in a smart suit like the other men who were after her, Lex saw that he had the same robot-like expression. His face showed no trace of emotion, most likely he didn't even blink, but stared coldly in the direction he was walking.

He was coming straight towards Lex, but by the look on his face she couldn't tell if he was looking at her or through her, as if she was not even there. At the time being, Lex thought it best not to cross paths with him. She wanted to go back, but the man she had been running from was a few feet behind her, aiming his gun in her direction. He didn't seem to be bothered by the presence of the other man, but it didn't look like they were part of the same team either. Lex turned again to the other man, desperately hoping he would be her salvation, only to see him doing some fast and starnge movements with his hands, as if he was preparing something between his palms. Although he was at a relatively big distance from her, Lex had the impression that in a fraction of a second, something had really appeared in his hands. She had no time for further examinations as he threw that thing, whatever it was, towards her. She threw herself to the ground and the object, that to her amazement she recognized to be a large icicle, impaled itself into the other man's throat, killing him on the spot.

The man who had thrown the icicle approached Lex and she quickly got up, preparing her weapon to use it in her defense if necessary. The man however did not even seem to care that she was ready to fight him off.

"Alexa Woods?" he asked sounding like someone who does not like to waste any time with small talk.

"You should know who I am, since you wanted to kill me."

"It would have passed by you anyway," he answered coldly and started to walk back the way he came. "Follow me!"

"How do I know you're not with them?"

"I was sent by orders of Colonel Warrington to bring you to the meeting point. Now follow me."

He continued walking in the same direction and after thinking things over for a few seconds Lex made up her mind and followed him. When they were a block away from reaching the main street, the man took a left and Lex did the same although she didn't understand his move until they reached his car, parked not far away. They both got in and the man drove away joining the traffic of the main street. After a few uncomfortable moments of silence, Lex was the first one to speak.

"So …… since you know my name, can I know yours?"

"Zero," the man answered promptly without taking his eyes of the road.

"Zero?" she arched an eyebrow and starred in surprise for a moment.

"Yes."

"Ok …… so, how did you kill that guy?"

"I threw an icicle at his neck."

"Yes, I saw that, but how did you do that? How can you carry icicles around in the middle of summer?"

"I don't carry them, I create them."

"With what?"

"My hands."

"You mean, just like that, out of thin air?"

"Yes."

"How is that possible?"

"I don't know, I was borne with it."

Amazed as she was, Lex thought it best not to make any further comments and simply sat quietly in her sit, recalling everything that had happened to her that day and hoping she would discover a logical explanation for this man's special ability, so to say, if indeed he could do what he claimed and the entire thing had not been just some charade. Even encountering an extraterrestrial civilization and teaming up with a being from another world seemed more logical.

As they were driving to their destination, Lex would glance from time to time to the man next to her. He had regular cut, short, dark hair, brown eyes and light skin which Lex thought was almost icy pale whenever she remembered the icicle incident. His brows had a shape that made him look as if he was frowning all the time and Lex thought it matched his personality, never talking, never smiling, acting almost mechanically as if his sole purpose in life was carrying out orders.

At the end of a half an hour's trip they met with Lara and Leah in front of the hangar where a small, personal aircraft awaited them. As soon as she got out of the car Lex was greeted by Leah who informed her that the trip had been canceled. Before she could ask any questions, she saw Lara coming towards her after having just ended a phone call.

"What's wrong?" Lex was worried by Lara's severe look.

"There was an alien queen that you killed, was it not?"

"Yes it was," she answered rapidly unsure of where it was all going.

"Was it dead before it fell into the abyss?"

"No, but the fall would have surely killed it, right?" the question uttered with a slight touch of fear in her voice was one for which Lex expected a positive reply that would set her heart at ease.

"At this point that is of no importance."

"What do you mean?"

"The creature is no longer there and if my assumptions are correct regarding those who took it, dead or alive, the alien now represents a great threat to this planet."


	5. Plane Crash

**NOTE: **Any elements from this story reminiscent of the X-Men franchise will be explained through the perspective presented in the Stargate SG-1 TV Series. Any other X-Men related elements are just borrowed and given a new perspective. This is not an X-Men crossover.

**PART 5: "Plane Crash" **

With almost complete disregard for her complaints and inquiries Lex was forced to board the plane at Colonel Warrington's command alongside the two others and join them in what appeared to be a military type operation underwent by the non-governmental organization of which apparently she had unwillingly became a member.

"You said the trip to China was off. Where are we going? You shoved us in this plane without a single clue of where we're heading to," Lex snapped minutes after they had taken off.

The Colonel was not disturbed by this whatsoever and she kept her calm as she gaze up from a laptop's screen where Leah was showing her some pieces of information in relation to their current mission.

"I apologize, Miss Woods. I forgot you are still new to us. Here I am accustomed to my subordinates obeying my orders without questioning."

"I am not one of your subordinates."

"Spend some time with us and you will realize that we can offer you the opportunities to practice your career at its full potential, also benefiting from both personal and professional achievements."

Perplexed by the ambiguous yet intriguing answer Lex sat back in her sit and waited for the Colonel to continue.

"The mission I was speaking of is not one you have been accidentally dragged into, but one in which we count on your support, given your experience in the matter. As I have said before, it involves the queen of the extraterrestrial species you have encountered in your previous expedition."

"I have no experience. I don't know anything about these creatures. The only thing we did there was run for our lives. Our weapons were no match for them. Those other aliens, the … hunters," she paused to search for an appropriate term, "they had weapons powerful enough to kill those creatures. It was pure luck that helped me survive."

"But the hunters did give you one of their spears and besides we have some pretty advanced weapons at our disposal," Leah smirked proudly while Lex shot her a curious stare.

"However, we are not sure we will have to battle any aliens," the Colonel continue quickly. "General Stryker called me shortly after we took off to inform me that the missing alien queen might have been taken to a secret underground facility located beneath a chemical factory situated in the vicinity of a small, secluded North American town called Serene Valley. So far this underground facility was believed to be only a small laboratory used for the production of common industrial chemical compounds, but if the Committee intend to keep the creature there and experiment on it, then the base is probably far more extended than we thought. We will receive in no time a thermo geographic scan presenting the exact size and form of the structure."

"The Committee?" Lex asked.

"A shadow group behind the rogue operations of the NID, a civilian branch of the US government dealing with national and international security issues. The men that assaulted you today were rogue NID agents."

"It sounds like these guys are just waiting for aliens to drop in their back yard at any time," Lex burst into a short laugh but when she turned to the Colonel, instead of finding an equally amused expression she saw the woman, and even the more joyful girl next to her looking back at her with plain, serious looks on their faces, as if her joke had actually been a statement that they knew to be true.

"You're kidding! There have been others? Other aliens on Earth?" Lex cried a bit frightened by the premise.

"More or less," Leah giggled innocently.

"There is much you and the world don't know. If you join us permanently all your questions will be answered."

Lex starred at her puzzled, pondered for half a moment then sprung up to her feet.

"You are aliens as well, aren't you?" she whispered in realization. "He … ," she wanted to say what she saw Zero doing earlier, but when she turned to him standing in the back of the plane, unloading some weapons from a large, metal trunk and assembling them, she met his cold stare that stopped her from continuing the sentence. She turned to the Colonel, who understood what Lex wanted to say and saw her giving the man a threatening look, just before their eyes met once more.

"If by aliens you mean that we have spawned from a race of humans that settled on our planet thousands of years ago, coexisting with our own self-evolved homo sapiens, then yes, you could call us that, but bear in mind that you as well can be an alien, for we have no way of telling whether any of the extraterrestrial humans who came to our planet are our ancestors or not. On the other hand, if by aliens you refer to people who possess certain peculiar abilities, then once more I must say that you too could possess such abilities. The human organism has unimaginable potential. As you may or may not know the human DNA contains many dormant genes whose function has not yet been determined. It is known however that sometimes in the natural course of human evolution, one by one these genes begin to be active. So far on Earth individuals have started to be born, about a century ago, with one of these dormant genes activated. This means that these people can do things that to the general population appear to be supernatural. Because history offers us many reasons to believe that individuals with such powers have been born in the past as well we cannot tell if our own species has started to evolve or if these special individuals all have ancestors among the alien race of humans I spoke of earlier."

Realizing that she had been speaking for too long, the Colonel stopped and waited for Lex to acknowledge the information she had received and recover from her shock.

"This is unbelievable."

"The initial shock is inevitable and natural but it will not be difficult to accommodate to this new reality."

"So you have … powers too?" Lex questioned with curiosity.

"That's odd," Leah interrupted, concentrating on her laptop.

"What?" the Colonel inquired.

"There seems to be some interference with the transmission."

That same moment the plane was shaken by turbulences and Lex sat down, bucking her seatbelt. In the back of the plane Zero kept mending the weapons, but when the turbulences returned with increased force he put them back in their case and took a seat as well. More turbulences followed with the plane shacking as if they were on the ground and there was a powerful earthquake. Then outside the sky around them began to darken the same as during a solar eclipse and before anyone could make any assumptions, what looked like a giant space ship passed above them. The ship flew by at great speed and so close that it almost brushed against the much smaller and feebler airplane. Whether the spaceship actually touched them or it had been only the powerful current of air, the next thing they knew their plane was crashing violently.


End file.
